By the time Pat Bowlen experiences the April 10 induction ceremony into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame, the Broncos’ owner believes he might have something extra to talk about.
“I’m enjoying this especially because of the people from the Broncos’ organization who already have been inducted,” Bowlen said Wednesday as one of six new inductees. “It’s great to be there with them. Some of them have coached and played for me.
“I’m happy this came before I’m dead. I’m not planning on retiring.”
Bowlen and The Big Cat, Andres Galarraga, the slugging first baseman in the early years of the Rockies, lead the list of this year’s class.
Also voted in by the CSHF’s selection committee are Ben Dreith, who built a distinguished career as an official in the NFL; Carol Baily, winner of 14 singles titles and 27 doubles crowns in the state’s three major tennis tournaments; Hank Kashiwa, a national and world champion in skiing; and Scott Wedman, a basketball standout at Mullen High School, the University of Colorado and in the NBA.
When the induction rolls around, Bowlen hopes to have a third Super Bowl trophy in hand.
“I have great expectations for this team,” he said. “We have some excellent opportunities just ahead of us.”
Galarraga brought instant credibility to the expansion Rockies franchise in 1993, when he won the National League batting championship, hitting .370. He played for the Rockies from 1993-97 and was a member of the Blake Street Bombers. He hit six grand slams for the Rockies and compiled a .316 batting average in 679 games.
“When he caught it on the screws, it sounded like a rifle shot,” Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. “You won’t meet someone more deserving of the honor. He was one of the kindest gentlemen, who could really mash a baseball.”
“My favorite memory of Cat? When he hit the grand slam off Kevin Brown in Florida. That was the first time I ever got chills when someone hit a home run. I couldn’t believe someone could hit a ball that far,” Hurdle said of Galarraga’s 529-foot homer on May 31, 1997, at Pro Player Park against the Florida Marlins.
Dreith, a standout athlete at Denver North High School and then-Colorado State College (now Northern Colorado) was the referee in three Super Bowls, including the second year of the series, when it was called the World Championship of Professional Football. He officiated in the postseason 28 consecutive years.
Baily was ranked No. 1 in the world in the women’s 40 singles and doubles in 1991 and again in the 45 singles and doubles in 1996.
Kashiwa won the U.S. national championship in 1969 and a world pro title in 1975.
Wedman played from 1974-87 in the NBA, for the Kansas City Kings, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. He averaged 13.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 906 professional games.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck contributed to this story.
